Dr. Lewis joined the Lyon faculty in 1993. The consummate classroom teacher, he was also a widely acclaimed scholar and the author of “The Miraculous Lie,” a critical study of five 20th century Latin American historical novels.

He was named Alpha Chi Teacher of the Year in 1995, and was the recipient of the Lamar Williamson Prize for Faculty Excellence in 1995-96. In 1997 he was named Arkansas Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

“Loved and respected by those fortunate enough to know him, Bart gave unstintingly of his time and energy to his students and colleagues and to the college,” Lyon President Walter Roettger said.

Mrs. Blair said, “Bart Lewis was important to Lyon College and Lyon College was important to Bart Lewis. He loved his years at Lyon. While here, he not only had a profound effect on the college and its curriculum but on his colleagues, students, and those who became his friends.”

For more information on how to contribute to the Bart Lewis Memorial Endowed Scholarship, call the Office of Institutional Advancement at (870) 698-4382.

Lyon Young Democrats attend state convention

Senator Lincoln takes time to pose with the Lyon group. From left are Jimmy Stewart; Dr. Veronica Burke, assistant professor of Spanish; Caroline Bednar; Sen. Blanche Lincoln; Seth Purcell and Josh Hicks.

On Saturday, April 4, a few members of the Lyon College Young Democrats traveled to Little Rock to attend the annual Arkansas Young Democrat State Convention. The event was held at the State Capitol Building. The event featured many speakers including: Representatives Vic Snyder, Mike Ross and Marion Berry as well as Senators Mark Pryor and Blanche Lincoln. Each of the elected officials spoke about the importance of this year’s election and encouraged youth involvement in the political process. They spoke about issues such as the war in Iraq, health care reform, the environment, and the economy to name a few. Each speaker took questions from the large group of Young Democrats. Several, including Senator Lincoln, took the time to meet and greet the students.

Lyon to host reception at museum to open exhibit about Long, college

Lyon College will host a reception Thursday, May 13, at the Old Independence Regional Museum to formally open a new exhibit at the museum titled “Isaac Long and the Founding of Arkansas College.” The reception will be from 4 to 6 p.m.

Arkansas Presbyterians founded Lyon College in 1872 as Arkansas College. The Rev. Isaac J. Long, a Presbyterian minister, was the first president of the college and served until his death in 1891. His son, Eugene R. Long, served two terms as president (1891-95 and 1897-1913).

Jo Blatti, director of the museum, said the exhibit will consist of maps and drawings along with items that belonged to the Long family, including tableware, a candelabra, and Isaac Long’s fraternity pin. There also are textbooks from the era, including one written by Long, as well as books containing records and information about the college.

Of special interest is an autograph album owned by Mrs. Callie Kennedy Long, the Rev. Long’s wife. The album has a beautiful inlaid mother-of-pearl cover, Blatti said.

Blatti said many of the items on display are on loan from Lyon College’s Regional Studies Center. She and Dr. Brooks Blevins, director of regional studies at Lyon, have been collaborating on the exhibit.

Two student interns from Lyon – senior Margaret Rendina and sophomore Chris Slaymaker – also worked on the exhibit, Blatti said. They created a life-size cut-out of Isaac Long in a tableau of his study with a view of the college at its original College and Boswell street location, which is now the site of First Presbyterian Church.

Like many institutions of its time, Arkansas College also contained primary and preparatory departments in addition to college-level instruction. Unlike many schools in its day, AC was coeducational from the beginning. Blatti said this reflected Long’s progressive views on education.

Special groups attend the Arkansas Scottish Festival
Pictured above are representatives from the Woodlands Presbyterian Church in Hot Springs Village, Arkansas.		Pictured above are representatives from the Red Hat Society, the “Best Babes of the Bay” from Fairfield Bay, Arkansas.

Sports

Jose Rivas of Lyon College has been named the TranSouth Conference Player of the Year. He was selected at a recent meeting of conference coaches.

Rivas, a junior outfielder from Venezuela, and senior third baseman Josh Talbott of Mesa, Arizona, were named First-Team All-TranSouth Conference. Pitcher Louis Raptopoulos was named to the second team.

As of April 28, Rivas was batting .403 with 17 home runs, a Lyon season record, and 74 RBI, also a season high. He had a slugging percentage of .716.

Jeff Forehand of Trevecca Nazarene University was selected TranSouth Coach of the Year.

***

The Scots were eliminated from the TranSouth Conference Tournament Thursday with a 15-8 loss to Martin Methodist. It was the Scots’ second loss in the double-elimination tournament. The Scots lost to Berry College 13-6 Wednesday night. The Scots ended the year at 43-20.

On Tuesday, the same day he was named the TranSouth Athletic Conference Player of the Year, Jose Rivas played hero again for Lyon College.

Rivas drove in two runs with an eighth-inning single, lifting the sixth- and last-seeded Scots to a 6-5 win over top-seeded host Lee in the first round of the TranSouth tournament at Olympic Field Tuesday. Rivas and Tim Bush, both 2-for-4 batters, were the only players with more than one hit. Rivas led with three RBI.

Lyon pitcher Hal Skinner (7-1) allowed three earned runs and two walks and struck out nine batters in a complete game.

The Scots (43-18) scored three runs in the eighth. Taylor Guillory forced in a run with a walk to bring Rivas to the plate for his winning hit.